We start the day’s adventures with a short vaporetto ride to the Rialto Mercato stop. Our guide for the day is Roseanna. I never did see her name tag, so apologize if I have it misspelled. Roseanna starts the tour by telling us about some of the 500 year old history of the market. The main parts are the the fruit and veggie stands, with the meat and seafood shops adjacent. This next link does a great job of showing the stall contents and telling a bit about what is going on.
http://eatrepeat.blogspot.com/2013/08/venice-rialto-market-mercato-di-rialto.html
If you go there, look for – Macellaria Equina – the horsemeat shop. Yes, horse, like in pony. I know, just the thought makes you feel – jumpy?
As we walked the various small streets, remembered the suggestion – look at the walls about 10 feet up at each corner. There may be a painted sign pointing to the direction you might be interested in. Maybe even a street or calle name sign. For Rialto bridge area – the sign read – Per Rialto, with arrow below pointing to the general direction of the Rialto Bridge. For St. Mark’s Square, the sign read – Per S Marco. For us, if lost, look for the Alla Ferrovia – for the Santa Lucia Railway Station. Once there, only minutes away from our hotel. Check this for more details on using the train to and from Venice to the mainland.
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-railroad-station.htm
There is also a section titled - Top 11 Tourist Mistakes
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/top-tourist-mistakes.htm
One of our key stops beside the Rialto markets is the Basilica dei Frari (Friars), also known as Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. This church has many beautiful works of art as well as funerary monuments for many historic notables.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Gloriosa_dei_Frari
When finished at the Frari, we board another vaporetto @ St Tomas and travel to the Accademia stop. When then have a chance to view a workshop where new gondolas are created and others are renovated. The work is detailed and made special for each gondolier. There is an offset weight on the bottom to help provide boat balance whether paddling alone or with as many as 6 passengers.
We next walk to Ristorante San Trovaso in Dursoduro. Enjoy a good meal, then again board a vaporetto that will take is from the Accademia stop to the San Marco stop for us to visit the Doges Palace.
http://www.ristorantesantrovaso.it/menu.php
The word Doge is pronounced doe-j. When I went to visit the link below noticed “someone” had inserted a picture of a dogee – yep, like in puppy, in place of a mayor of times many hundred years in the past – too funny, just like the hats the Doges wore (-:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge's_Palace,_Venice
The palace was also the place where people would leave anonymous notes in a special passage to advise the authorities of a crime. The crime would be investigated and if found true, a trial would occur. If convicted, the prison was part of the complex which could be reached over a small canal via a bridge. The famous name of the bridge dates from the Romantic period and was supposed to refer to the sighs of prisoners who, passing from the courtroom to the cell in which they would serve their sentence, took a last look at freedom as they glimpsed the lagoon and San Giorgio church through the small windows.
One of those convicted of a crime, was none other than the suave talking Giancomo Casanova. He was one of the rare few that was able to escape. With inside help it was believed.
http://www.italyguides.it/us/venice_italy/doge_s_palace/giacomo_casanova/casanova_s_cell.htm
After a full afternoon of walking, we boarded a vaporetto and headed back to the hotel. Dinner was to be @ 7:30. The sun was sinking into the Western waters and for me, a great time to get those special photos as buildings along the Grand Canal were being lighted both inside and out. A wonderful time to get photos we can’t during the bright daylight.
Dinner was again at Ristorante Povoledo, where we ate 2 evenings before. Each table sat 6 people so it made for a cozy arrangement to discuss the day’s activities. Can you guess what variation of tiramisu we had for dessert? It tasted sweet and good.
Back to the hotel and get ready for our last day of touring – next stop - The Island Of Murano Glass factories.
Photo 1. Our vaporetto ride to the Rialto Bridge stop
Photo 2. Shows a high powered and expensive water taxi
Photo 3. If you are prepared for a more leisurely ride, a gondola is nice (-:
Click below for today's online photo album.
https://picasaweb.google.com/magwheel44/2013C2CDay26of28
